NUSADUWA, Indonesia (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Saturday he discussed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and expressed concern about Beijing’s alliance with Moscow during more than five hours of talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
The two diplomats called their first face-to-face meeting since October “frank,” which came a day after they attended a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Bali, Indonesia.
“Again, I shared with the state councilor that we are concerned about China’s alliance with Russia,” Blinken said at a news conference after the talks, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
He said he did not believe China was acting neutrally because it supports Russia at the United Nations and “amplifies Russian propaganda.”
After the meeting, the U.S. official said “neither side is backing down.
We are very open to where our differences lie,” the official said. …… But the meeting was also constructive because, despite the candor, the tone was very professional.”
Blinken said Chinese President Xi Jinping made clear in a June 13 phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he supports the decision to build a partnership with Russia.
Beijing and Moscow announced an “unrestricted” partnership shortly before Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, although U.S. officials said they have not seen China evade tough U.S.-led sanctions against Russia or provide it with military equipment.
U.S. officials have warned of consequences, including sanctions, if China provides material support for what Moscow has called a “special military operation” to weaken Ukraine’s military. Kiev and its Western allies say the invasion is an unwarranted land grab.
“Sinophobia”
Asked about his refusal to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the G20, Blinken said, “Here’s the problem: We don’t see any indication that Russia is prepared to engage in meaningful diplomacy at this moment in time.”
According to a statement released by the Foreign Ministry, Wang exchanged in-depth views on the “Ukraine issue” during Saturday’s talks, but did not provide details.
He also told Blinken that the direction of the U.S.-China relationship is in danger of going further “astray” because of problems with the U.S. view of China.
“Many people believe that the United States is suffering from a growing ‘China-phobia,'” Wang said.
Wang also said that Washington should quickly lift the tariffs imposed on China and stop unilateral sanctions against Chinese companies.
U.S. officials had said before the talks that the meeting was aimed at keeping the difficult U.S.-China relationship stable and preventing it from inadvertently descending into conflict.
In late June, U.S. National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan said he expected President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping to speak again in the coming weeks.
Daniel Russell, a senior U.S. diplomat in East Asia under former President Barack Obama who has close ties to Biden administration officials, said a key goal ahead of the talks is to explore the possibility of face-to-face talks between Biden and Xi, their first leader.
The United States calls China its main strategic adversary and fears it may one day try to take over the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan.
Despite the rivalry, the world’s two largest economies remain major trading partners, and Biden has been considering lifting tariffs on a range of Chinese goods to curb soaring U.S. inflation ahead of November’s midterm elections.